Falluja

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Developmentwhat assistance his Department is giving to Iraqi civilians remaining in Falluja.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Interim Iraqi Government (IIG) is leading on humanitarian and reconstruction work in Fallujah and has established a central team to co-ordinate its assistance to the people of Fallujah. The UK is in close contact with the IIG, and DFID is providing technical advice to its Fallujah coordination team.
	The IIG and the Multi-National Force operating in Fallujah have reported that there is no humanitarian crisis so far and humanitarian visits to Fallujah by British military officials confirm this assessment. The Iraqi Ministry of Health, Iraqi Security Forces, and the Multi-National Force have reported that their stockpiles of humanitarian supplies have provided for the immediate needs of Fallujah's civilians. The IIG and Iraqi Red Crescent trucks containing humanitarian supplies are entering the city and distributing food, water, and medical supplies. Work to clear rubble and restore basic services is also underway.
	DFID is maintaining close contact with the IIG, with representatives of the Multi-National Force, and with humanitarian organisations on the ground, to address the needs of Fallujah's population. DFID is ready to respond positively to requests for humanitarian help or further advice in Fallujah or elsewhere.

Falluja

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information he has received on the (a) location and (b) humanitarian condition of Iraqi civilians who left Falluja in advance of the US bombing.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Iraqi Interim Government (IIG), together with its humanitarian agency partners, is monitoring the location and condition of Fallujah's displaced population. The IIG has reported that the main concentrations of Fallujah's civilians are located in Ameria, Habania, Saqlawiyah, and Gaana, with a significant number also in Baghdad.
	The IIG judges that there is no humanitarian crisis in Fallujah or the surrounding area.The Iraqi Ministry of Health (MoH) assessment teams have visited the four areas around Fallujah where it considers the main concentrations of Fallujah's displaced population to be located. The MoH teams report that most of the displaced citizens are staying with family and friends, some are in schools, mosques, and government buildings, and a small number are in tents. Pre-positioning of supplies has helped to provide for immediate needs, and the IIG and humanitarian agencies are continuing to deliver essential food, water, blankets and medical supplies. The IIG plans to send public health teams and medical staff into the four main areas to address potential health and hygiene concerns until it is safe for the displaced families to return to Fallujah.DFID is providing technical advice to the IIG Fallujah co-ordination team and is ready to respond positively to further requests for humanitarian help or advice in Fallujah and the surrounding area.

Falluja

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance his Department is giving to the Iraqi civilians who left Fallujah in advance of the US bombing.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Interim Iraqi Government (IIG) is leading on assistance to the citizens of Fallujah who left the city before military action took place. The IIG has established a ministerial team to co-ordinate its response, which includes supplying food, water and medical supplies to Fallujah's displaced population, and planning for their safe return to the city. DFID is providing advice to the IIG Fallujah team and is ready to respond positively to requests for further humanitarian help or advice in Fallujah and the surrounding area.

Jamaica

George Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the impact that a three-year transition period and a price reduction on sugar would have on the sugar industry in Jamaica;
	(2)  what studies his Department has undertaken into the effects that the European Commission's proposed price reductions on sugar would have on the sugar industry in (a) Jamaica and (b) the wider Caribbean region.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID recognises that the reform of the EU sugar regime will have a significant impact on the sugar industry in Jamaica and the Caribbean, and hence on many communities already among the poorest in the region.
	The impact of EU reform will vary between countries, and will depend crucially on the policies that Caribbean countries adopt with regard to their sugar industries. The Government of Jamaica are bringing together representatives of the Government, the sugar industry, academia, trade unions, and other civil society organizations to identify possible future scenarios for Jamaica's agricultural sector. The exercise will develop a relevant and practical action plan for the future, which will be passed to the Government of Jamaica for consideration and action.
	The impact of EU reform will also depend on the transitional assistance available. On a parallel track, DFID is working to ensure that the EU offers the most effective possible package of transitional assistance.
	In order to help inform the debate and ensure the impact on developing countries is taken sufficiently into consideration, DFID commissioned a study last year with LMC International and Oxford Policy Management, 'Addressing the Impact of Preference Erosion in Sugar on Developing Countries'. The study is divided into two sections. The first part assesses the economic and social impact on the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP) Sugar Protocol countries of the various reform scenarios suggested by the European Commission. The second part of the study assesses alternative options for addressing the impact of preference erosion in sugar. The purpose of this analysis was to identify various options for debate by the ACP and the EU.
	DFID has recently commissioned two further pieces of work on this issue: from LMC International, 'EU Sugar Reform: the Implications for the Development of Least Developed Countries (LDC)s' and from the Overseas Development Institute: 'Forthcoming changes in EU sugar/banana markets: a menu of options for an effective EU transitional assistance package'. This latter report should help those countries affected by reform determine their priorities for a transitional package. It also includes some analysis of alternative uses for sugar.
	DFID is now following up this work by commissioning a series of country profiles for those Caribbean countries that will be affected by the change in the EU trade regime. The principle objective of these profiles is to identify a specific menu of options for an effective competitive fund package, which addressees the impact of sugar reform at both the national and the household level.

Snow Cover (Everest/Nepal)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Developmentwhat estimate he has made of the percentage of snow cover on Mount Everest in (a) 1953, (b) 1983 and (c) 2003; and what assessment he has made of the impact on Nepal of changes in the level of snow cover.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Quantifying the change in percentage snow-cover on Mount Everest from 1953 to 2003 is difficult because there have been few surveys of the mountain's snow-covered area over the period in question and none of these surveys has been continual. DFID has recently funded a research project on Snow and Glacier Aspects of Water Resources Management in the Himalayas, 2001–2004 (SAGARMATHA) that undertook analysis of temperature data and developed a predictive model to assess impacts of changes. The analysis revealed a trend of increasing annual average temperature between 1961–1996 of around +0.07o C/year across Nepal, while data from the 15 highest gauges for the period 1976–96, at elevations of between 1800 and 4100 metres, showed an upward trend of +0.1o C/year. If maintained, such trends will cause the snow-covered area in the Nepal Himalaya to recede.
	Photographs taken of the mountain since the 1950s, and other anecdotal evidence, do suggest a general reduction both in the snow-covered area and the spatial extent of the mountain's glaciers, but with the snow-covered area varying within each year and from year to year; it is not possible to provide definitive figures from these for the percentage change.
	The impacts of a reduced snow-covered area are many. There is a greater tendency for glaciers to retreat resulting in glacial lakes being formed behind unstable moraine dams. Consequently a build-up of melt-water and/or glacier surges behind these structures increases the threat of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), several of which have been reported in Nepal. The reduction in snow and ice cover also has potential impacts on water resources availability and use downstream: it is likely to lead to a temporary increase followed, ultimately, by a reduction in river flows. Increased river flows, resulting from more glacial ice being exposed for melting, could increase the incidence of flooding and landslides; whereas reduced river flows, as the glacial ice disappears, could affect agricultural productivity, fisheries, hydropower generation, industry, domestic water supply, and transportation.
	The SAGARMATHA project sought to quantify the timing and extent of these impacts across the Himalayan region. It concluded that, while glaciers were retreating throughout the Himalaya, the threat to future water availability was greatest in the west. In the eastern Himalaya changes in the melt-water from glaciers has a relatively small effect. The project's models forecast that flows in eastern Nepal would gradually increase for several decades but would eventually diminish. In the west, river flows were forecast to diminish rapidly over the next few decades, which will be a concern for both India and Pakistan.

Water/Sanitation Projects

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans his Department has to work with (a) other donors and (b) main partner governments to establish sector wide approaches in water and sanitation.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: holding reply 29 November 2004
	The Department for International Development (DFID) works with its partners to support governments to achieve the Millennium development goals, including the water and sanitation goals. Where appropriate, DFID provides Poverty Reduction Budgetary Support, which helps countries implement their Poverty Reduction Strategies. Poverty Reduction Strategies are produced following a consultation process within the country concerned, and between governments and donors. Water and sanitation are a key part of these discussions.
	Where DFID does not provide all or any of its assistance through Poverty Reduction Budgetary Support, DFID may work with others towards sector wide approaches in water and sanitation. This will depend on the specific situation in a country, including whether water and sanitation are agreed priorities for DFID support. DFID is also promoting improved donor co-ordination in the water and sanitation sector, under the European Union Water Initiative.

Nickel-cadmium Batteries

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the impact of a total ban on the sale and use of nickel-cadmium batteries on employment in the United Kingdom.

Elliot Morley: Neither the European Commission proposal for a Directive on Batteries and Accumulators nor the European Parliament's amendments at First Reading envisage a total ban on the sale and use of nickel-cadmium batteries. A partial ban has, however, been suggested during current negotiations on the proposed Directive, and is the subject of an extended impact assessment by the Council. When participating in negotiations, the Government weighs all relevant factors, including impacts on cost, employment, customer choice, and environmental protection, in consultation with business and other interested parties.

Warm Front Scheme

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to monitor private landlords' compliance with the requirement to freeze rents for a one or two year period after a Warm Front improvement.

Elliot Morley: Where measures are to be installed by Warm Front in a privately rented property prior to work going ahead landlords sign an agreement that they will not increase the rent for either one or two years.
	However depending on the measures provided, where a property is regulated under a fair rent agreement or is subject to an annual rent review, landlords can increase the rent providing it does not take into account the impact of any Warm Front measures installed.
	The Warm Front Scheme Managers do not have any formal requirement to check whether these arrangements are being complied with but would act if contacted by a tenant on this issue.

European Constitution

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on the effect of the coming into force of the European Constitution on the operation of her Department, with reference to (a) changes in legislative competence, (b) the extension of qualified majority voting, (c) the increased legislative role of the European Parliament, (d) the cost of implementation of regulations, (e) the requirements of adherence to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and (f) the quantity of legislation originating in the EU institutions.

Richard Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Europe (Mr. MacShane) on Monday 29 November, Official Report, columns 10W-11W.

Car Emissions

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) low carbon vehicles and (b) vehicles were sold in the UK in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: The Government supports sales of low carbon vehicles in a number of ways, as summarised in our "Powering Future Vehicles Strategy". Our Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax regimes in particular reward those who choose the cleanest, most fuel-efficient cars.
	We reported progress on low carbon vehicle sales in the Second Annual Report on the delivery of the Powering Future Vehicles Strategy, published in October 2004 and available via the Department's website. Some good progress has been made in recent years. Average new car fuel efficiency has been improving each year since 1995 in the UK, by between 1 per cent. and 2 per cent. per year on average, and in 2003 sales of cars with a fuel efficiency of 120 g/km carbon dioxide or better made up about 3 per cent. of total new car sales.
	Information on annual new vehicle registrations is published each year in "Transport Statistics Great Britain", available via the Department's website. Total new vehicle registrations and new registrations of private and light goods vehicles are presented in the following table.
	
		
			   Thousand 
			  All vehicles Of which, private and light goods vehicles 
		
		
			 2003 3,231.9 2,820.7 
			 2002 3,229.4 2,815.6 
			 2001 3,137.7 2,709.7 
			 2000 2,870.9 2,429.8 
			 1999 2,765.8 2,342.0

Cycling

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he will take to promote cycling in the English regions after the end of the contract for the English Regions Cycling Development Team in May 2005.

Charlotte Atkins: We have announced a wide range of measures to promote cycling many of which can be found in our Action Plan on Walking and Cycling published June this year. These measures include £10 million to provide links from the National Cycle Network to more schools, and over £500,000 for improved bike parking at 200 targeted stations to aid bike and rail journeys. A new National Standard for cycle training will be launched shortly. We will also be working with the bicycle industry, DfES, local authorities, teachers and parents to roll out the "Bike It" scheme to the more than 250 school travel advisors. "Bike It" aims to make comprehensive provision for cycling to school by putting in place cycle training, bike parking and safer routes.

Road Noise

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on noise reduction barriers to reduce noise from roads in each of the last seven years.

David Jamieson: Figures for the last seven years are not available. Spend on noise reduction barriers that are provided in conjunction with highway improvement schemes are not separately identified in the scheme cost. Spend on the installation of noise barriers provided retrospectively on older trunk roads that commenced in 2000, has been met by the £5 million per year ring-fenced allocation.

School Transport

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of trips to schools were by bus by (a) five to 10 year olds and (b) 11 to 16 year olds in the latest year for which figures are available; and what proportion of these were (i)   under three miles and (ii) three miles and over (1) in total and (2) broken down by region.

Charlotte Atkins: The National Travel Survey provides the data requested. The latest available data are for 2002–03, shown in the tables.
	
		Trips to and from school 2002–03, Great Britain
		
			 Percentage/trips 
			 Trips per child per year by: 5 to 10 years 11 to 16 years 5 to 16 years 
		
		
			 Bus 20 105 63 
			 All modes 316 328 322 
			 
			 Percentage by:
			 Bus 6 32 19 
			 
			 Percentage of those trips bybus:
			 Under 3 miles 55 30 34 
			 3 miles and over 45 70 66 
		
	
	
		
			  5 to 16 years 
			 Percentage of those trips by bus 
			 Regional Bus trips per child per year All trips per child per year Percentage of trips by bus Under 3 miles 3 miles and over 
		
		
			 North East 55 319 17 38 62 
			 North West 57 321 18 44 56 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 46 310 15 28 72 
			 East Midlands 63 315 20 37 63 
			 West Midlands 57 317 18 34 66 
			 East 53 309 17 28 72 
			 London 65 316 21 43. 57 
			 South East 56 322 17 19 81 
			 South West 59 322 18 23 77 
			 England 57 317 18 33 67 
			 Wales 95 315 30 26 74 
			 Scotland 96 374 26 43 57 
			 Great Britain 63 322 19 34 66 
		
	
	Source:
	National Travel Survey, DfT
	Numbers of trips are averaged over all children. Bus includes local and private school buses. Figures exclude trips over 50 miles.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many TC840 forms for requesting reconsideration of recovery of tax credits have been sent out during the current tax year.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 October 2004, Official Report, column 666W.

Crown Prosecution Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the work of the Crown Prosecution Service in North Yorkshire.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service in North Yorkshire is working with the police and the courts to bring offenders to justice and to ensure people can have confidence in the criminal justice system.
	Last year's inspection finds their casework decision-making to be "good".
	The CPS is brining persistent young offenders before the courts speedily and they are reducing the number of cases which do not result in a guilty plea or conviction after trial.

Building Schools for the Future

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the refurbishment projects for (a) schools under the Building Schools for the Future programme, (b) colleges and (c) his Department's buildings that (i) are in progress and (ii) that will start in the next six months; what action is being taken to ensure that these will procure timber from legal and sustainable sources; and whether guidance will be issued to contractors on each of these projects to ensure that the timber used on-site during refurbishment also comes from legal and sustainable sources.

David Miliband: Funding for Building for the Future is not fully available until 2005–06. While it is not possible to forecast, at this stage, how many projects will start building work at the beginning of that financial year, a limited number of wave 1 projects are expected to start building work within the next 6 months.
	There is no specific guidance available on the procurement of legal and sustainably sourced timer as part of the BSF. However, recently we have launched BREEAM-Schools (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) which will help schools, local authorities and dioceses to set environmental targets for new school buildings and major refurbishments and help designers to improve the environmental performance of their buildings. All schools supported by Government funding should aim for a very good or excellent rating. Within BREEAM there are two optional credits available where timber and wood products used in structural and non-structural elements are responsibly sourced (legal and sustainable) or utilised reused and recycled timber. There are also other credits available in BREEAM which promote the use of timber as it has a low environmental impact.
	All of the Department's funds for post-16 learning and skills sector capital investment are allocated to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The LSC has sole responsibility for the programme of renewing and replacing the FE estate. This is an operational matter for the LSC. Mr Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member about this matter and provide the information that he has asked for. A copy of this reply will be placed in the House Library.
	My Department has no refurbishment projects in progress and no future plans that will call for the use of timber.

Building Schools for the Future

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress his Department is making with the Building Better Schools programme.

David Miliband: We are making excellent progress with Building Schools for the Future. On Tuesday, I announced the 20 new authorities in waves two and three, which will develop projects aiming to sing in 2006–07 and 2007–08. This brings to 39 the number of local authorities in the programme: over a quarter of the total. About 380 schools will benefit from £6.5 billion of investment being allocated over the next three years. We have established Partnerships for Schools to help authorities develop their projects. We have published a range of exemplar designs for schools, which have been well received. Two of the wave on authorities have had their outline business cases approved and are now moving to procurement; other have submitted or will submit their cases shortly for consideration.

Education (Lewisham)

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital investment his Department has made in the Lewisham, Deptford constituency in the last three years.

David Miliband: The capital allocations made to Lewisham Local Education Authority and its schools in the last three years are:
	
		
			£000 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Grant 8,326 7,314 6,455 
			 Supported Borrowing 7,500 9,287 8,615 
			 PFI credits 60,600 0 0 
			 Total capital investment 76,426 16,601 15,070 
		
	
	Information on the split between constituencies is not held centrally. Decisions on how resources should be invested in schools are made in accordance with locally prepared asset management plans.
	The capital investment on ICT made to the LEA and its schools is not included in the figures provided above. This information is kept separately and can be found in the house of Commons Library in a paper Funding for ICT schools in England.

British Nuclear Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made the financial benefit conferred on British Nuclear Fuels by the Energy Act 2004.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 30 November 2004
	The Energy Act 2004 does not confer any direct financial benefit to BNFL. Its provisions relating to the civil nuclear industry (in part) establish the NDA and provide for nuclear transfer schemes to facilitate the consequent reorganisation of British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL). This reorganisation will be conducted in line with the conclusions of the Joint Strategy Review as announced by the Secretary of State for Trade Industry in the House of Commons on 11 December 2003

Business Support Initiatives

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will list the value of (a) UK High Technology Fund and (b) Regional Venture Capital Funds expenditure in each region since the Funds' establishment;
	(2)  if she will list the value of (a) UK High Technology Fund and (b) Regional Venture Capital Fund expenditure in each region since 2000.

Nigel Griffiths: As at the 31 October 2004 the Regional Venture Capital Funds (RVCFs), had invested £38,194,527. This number can be broken down regionally as follows:
	
		
			 Region £ 
		
		
			 East Midlands 5,269,152 
			 East of England 1,158,111 
			 London 4,633,102 
			 North East 4,890,381 
			 North West 5,559.080 
			 South East 9,907,201 
			 South West 1,400,000 
			 West Midlands 3,677,500 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 1,700,000 
		
	
	The UK High Technology Fund is a fund of funds, as at the 30 June 2004 £123.6 million had been invested in nine private equity partnerships. The information necessary to determine a regional breakdown of this expenditure is not made available to us by the UK High Technology Fund.

Business Support Initiatives

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial provision has been made for the Research and Development Grants/SMART in each year since its inception; and what the uptake was in each year.

Nigel Griffiths: I refer to the answer given on 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 84W. For 2003–04, provision for Smart and Grant for Research and Development was £27 million and expenditure of £47 million.

Business Support Initiatives

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the value of Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme expenditure in each (a) region and (b) constituency in each year since 2000.

Nigel Griffiths: The following table lists the value of Small Firms Loan Guarantee expenditure by Region from 2000–04.
	
		
			 Value £ million 
			 Region 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2001 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 1 April 2002 to 31 April 2002 1 April 2003 to 31 April 2004 
		
		
			 EastMidlandsand Eastern 5.48 8.01 8.54 9.08 
			 North East 1.05 1.72 1.84 1.09 
			 North West 3.6 4.2 4.39 4.93 
			 South East 6.28 8.85 12.91 12.3 
			 South West 4.1 4.87 3.63 5.02 
			 WestMidlands 3.44 3.39 4.75 4.76 
			 YorkshireandHumberside 2.63 2.91 4.04 3.15 
			 NorthernIreland 0.26 0.43 0.27 1.22 
			 Scotland 5.63 7.6 7.64 8.2 
			 Wales 1.56 2.79 2.41 2.94 
			 Total 34.03 44.77 50.42 52.69 
		
	
	Expenditure figures are not available by constituency.
	The expenditure in the previous table is offset by the premiums and recoveries in the following table.
	These figures are not available by region.
	
		
			  1 April to 31 March each year  Value £ million Total Net Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 2000–01 9.2 24.83 
			 2001–02 9.3 35.47 
			 2002–03 9.6 40.82 
			 2003–04 12.5 40.19

Dial-up Internet Scams

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the number of people affected by dial-up internet scams in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Premium Rate Services are regulated by the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS). ICSTIS received around 60,000 complaints between August 2003 and July 2004, of which approximately two-thirds were related to internet diallers.

Nagaland

Michael Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) recent attacks on Christians and (b) the overall security situation in Nagaland.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 29 November 2004
	The UK government condemns the persecution of individuals or groups because of their religion or beliefs. The UK Government believes that the democratic process in India is the best protection for a peaceful and secure country. The Government have raised the issues of minorities with the Indian Government, and will continue to urge the Indian authorities to ensure that the right to freedom of religion is upheld, and that those responsible for attacks on religious minorities are brought to justice. The UK Government welcomes the remarks by Dr. Manmohan Signh in his first press conference as Prime Minister, when he said
	"We are the most tolerant civilisation and we cannot divide people on the basis of religion and race."
	The British High Commission in India continues to monitor developments in Nagaland. A ceasefire remains in place and this has led to a significant improvement in the security situation. A tragic bombing incident took place in Dimapur in early October, which we have strongly condemned. Although the culprits are yet to be identified local observers believe that the incident was perpetrated by outsiders and does not signal a general return to violence. Discussions are proceeding between the Government of India and one of the major militant factions on a political resolution of the conflict. The British High Commissioner visited Nagaland from 13–15 November to update himself on developments.

Regiments

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he intends to reduce the number of battalions in the (a) Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, (b) Royal Anglian Regiment and (c) Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding reply 30 November 2004
	As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced in July, the reduction in the number of forces committed to Northern Ireland means that the overall requirement for infantry battalions can be reduced by four. This reduction will comprise one battalion from Scotland and three from England.
	In addition, the decision to phase out the Infantry Arms Plot means that a new infantry structure is required. This new structure will seek to preserve the best elements of the regimental system while adapting to ensure operational success for the future. The new structure will be based on large regiments of two or more battalions. Details of the new organisation are still being worked through we hope to make an announcement before the Christmas Recess.

European Constitution

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the effect of the coming into force of the European Constitution on the operation of his Department, with reference to (a) changes in legislative competence, (b) the extension of qualified majority voting, (c) the increased legislative role of the European Parliament, (d) the cost of implementation of regulations, (e) the requirements of adherence to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and (f) the quantity of legislation originating in the EU institutions.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Straw) on 29 November 2004, Official Report, columns 10–11W.

Health Trainers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the cost of employing NHS accredited health trainers;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of NHS health trainers, as defined in the White Paper, Choosing Health, Cm 6374, which will be needed to provide universal access for those entitled to NHS care for this service; and what criteria NHS health trainers will be required to meet to obtain accreditation;
	(3)  what consultation his Department has had with (a) primary care and (b) general practice bodies on the establishment of NHS health trainers; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Choosing Health? consultation prompted many recommendations from specialist task groups and responses from organisations and the wider public. Representatives from primary care were involved in the primary care task group and responses to the Choosing Health? consultation document were received from across the national health service.
	A key theme in the recommendations and replies was the need to promote health and healthy lifestyles and for the NHS to take a lead. As a response to those views, the White Paper, Choosing Health?, announced the establishment of NHS health trainers. We will be working with the Faculty of Public Health and other appropriate professional bodies as the detailed plans for NHS health trainers are developed.
	From 2006, NHS trainers will be providing support to people in disadvantaged areas and progressively from 2007 across the country. This will involve a mix of full and part-time accredited NHS trainers and others, for example, trainers working in the voluntary sector, some of whom could carry out this role as part of their main job. There is no firm figure for the total number of accredited trainers as there will be a number of different models for delivering this service. During 2005–06, we will be piloting local models.
	The method of accreditation will be based on completion of formal training with built-in standards and quality assurance.
	The planning assumption, based on existing evidence and best practice, is that they will be broadly similar in salary and related employer costs to health care assistants and other NHS staff with comparable skills.

Mental Health

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into (a) demand for and (b) the supply of infant mental health specialists; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: No such research has been undertaken. The Department's 2003 child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) mapping exercise found that of the all the children being seen by CAMHS professionals 6.5 per cent. were aged four years and under.
	We are committed to ensuring that CAMHS are able to provide high quality services for children in all age groups, including infancy. The children's national service framework recommends that:
	'Primary Care Trusts and Local Authorities ensure that CAMH Tier 2 and 3 services with specialist expertise, are available to provide assessment and therapeutic support for infants/young children and their families to promote parent child relationships and address attachment difficulties'.

Paediatric Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) headcount and (b) whole-time equivalent medical staff there were in the NHS in England working within the paediatrics group of specialties in each year since 1992, broken down by region; and how many there were per head of population.

John Hutton: The standard ratio used by the Department is per 100,000 population. The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Hospital Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): Medical staff within the paediatrics group by Government office region and per 100,000 population: England as at 30September
		
			 Number (headcount) 
			  1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 England 2,819 3,106 3,350 3,892 4,011 4,344 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 139 165 248 294 325 333 
			 East of England 163 206 237 293 324 350 
			 London 393 504 713 848 852 937 
			 North East 116 149 191 221 251 272 
			 North West 337 380 442 515 589 610 
			 South East 283 355 421 510 601 655 
			 South West 203 223 266 327 330 354 
			 West Midlands 175 220 291 339 367 417 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 218 267 316 353 369 413 
			 Other 792 637 225 192 3 3 
		
	
	
		
			   Number (headcount) 
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England 4,542 4,750 5,027 5,127 5,608 5,960 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 347 355 368 378 402 425 
			 East of England 381 382 403 431 482 498 
			 London 989 1,108 1,204 1,227 1,354 1,407 
			 North East 272 294 324 343 337 355 
			 North West 656 670 736 695 731 801 
			 South East 694 698 730 734 796 827 
			 South West 387 391 407 410 479 485 
			 West Midlands 404 434 433 443 496 554 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 412 418 422 466 531 608 
			 Other — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Number per 100,000 population 
			  1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 England 5.9 6.5 6.9 8.0 8.3 8.9 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 3.4 4.1 6.1 7.2 7.9 8.1 
			 East of England 3.2 4.0 4.6 5.6 6.2 6.6 
			 London 5.8 7.4 10.4 12.3 12.2 13.4 
			 North East 4.5 5.7 7.4 8.6 9.7 10.6 
			 North West 4.9 5.6 6.5 7.5 8.6 9.0 
			 South East 3.7 4.6 5.5 6.6 7.7 8.3 
			 South West 4.3 4.7 5.6 6.8 6.9 7.3 
			 West Midlands 3.3 4.2 5.5 6.4 7.0 7.9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4.4 5.4 6.4 7.1 7.4 8.3 
			 Other n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			   Number per 100,000 population 
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England 9.3 9.7 10.2 10.4 11.3 12.0 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 8.4 8.5 8.8 9.0 9.5 10.0 
			 East of England 7.2 7.2 7.5 8.0 8.9 9.1 
			 London 14.0 15.5 16.6 16.8 18.4 19.0 
			 North East 10.6 11.5 12.7 13.5 13.3 14.0 
			 North West 9.7 9.9 10.9 10.3 10.8 11.8 
			 South East 8.8 8.8 9.1 9.1 9.9 10.2 
			 South West 8.0 8.0 8.3 8.3 9.6 9.7 
			 West Midlands 7.7 8.2 8.2 8.4 9.4 10.4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8.3 8.4 8.5 9.4 10.6 12.1 
			 Other n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			   Whole-time equivalents 
			  1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 England 2,559 2,833 3,070 3,551 3,680 4,018 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 124 149 227 265 296 302 
			 East of England 151 191 219 268 299 327 
			 London 360 462 652 789 790 871 
			 North East 108 140 178 206 235 258 
			 North West 311 351 409 469 539 568 
			 South East 243 314 379 444 526 588 
			 South West 179 202 242 302 308 323 
			 West Midlands 154 203 273 317 347 394 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 203 249 296 322 337 384 
			 Other 727 572 194 169 3 3 
		
	
	
		
			   Whole-time equivalents 
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England 4,196 4,365 4,590 4,645 5,155 5,516 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 310 324 335 334 368 389 
			 East of England 353 351 374 397 448 463 
			 London 923 1,015 1,074 1,105 1,235 1,309 
			 North East 259 258 304 321 314 330 
			 North West 609 624 679 646 677 741 
			 South East 625 641 648 639 718 753 
			 South West 355 356 372 370 441 440 
			 West Midlands 378 406 408 409 460 526 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 384 389 397 423 493 565 
			 Other — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Whole-time equivalent numbers per 100,000 population 
			  1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 England 5.3 5.9 6.4 7.3 7.6 8.3 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 3.1 3.7 5.6 6.5 7.2 7.3 
			 East of England 2.9 3.7 4.2 5.2 5.7 6.2 
			 London 5.3 6.8 9.5 11.4 11.3 12.4 
			 North East 4.2 5.4 6.9 8.0 9.1 10.0 
			 North West 4.5 5.1 6.0 6.9 7.9 8.4 
			 South East 3.2 4.1 4.9 5.7 6.7 7.5 
			 South West 3.8 4.3 5.1 6.3 6.4 6.7 
			 West Midlands 2.9 3.9 5.2 6.0 6.6 7.5 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4.1 5.0 6.0 6.5 6.8 7.7 
			 Other n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			   Whole-time equivalent numbers per 100,000 population 
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England 8.6 8.9 9.3 9.4 10.4 11.1 
			 of which:   
			 East Midlands 7.5 7.8 8.0 8.0 8.7 9.1 
			 East of England 6.7 6.6 7.0 7.4 8.3 8.5 
			 London 13.1 14.2 14.8 15.1 16.8 17.7 
			 North East 10.1 10.1 11.9 12.6 12.4 13.0 
			 North West 9.0 9.2 10.0 9.5 10.0 10.9 
			 South East 7.9 8.1 8.1 8.0 8.9 9.3 
			 South West 7.3 7.3 7.6 7.5 .9 8.8 
			 West Midlands 7.2 7.7 7.7 7.7 8.7 9.9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 7.8 7.8 8.0 8.5 9.9 11.3 
			 Other n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	Notes:
	"—" denotes zero
	n/a = not applicable. This is due to 'other' being made up of organisations which cannot be assigned to a government office region, therefore there are no applicable population data.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census

Prisoners (Mental Health)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners have been (a) diagnosed with and (b) treated for mental health disorders in each year since 1997, broken down by prison establishment.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not available in the form requested. A survey of mental ill health in the prison population of England and Wales, undertaken in 1997 by the Office for National Statistics, showed that around 90 per cent. of prisoners sampled displayed evidence of at least one of the five disorders—personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence—considered in the survey. There will, at any one time, be around 5,000 prisoners with a severe mental illness, although not all of them will be acutely ill.
	Prison establishments and their local national health service partners are responsible for assessing the health needs of their populations and developing appropriate services to meet them. NHS-funded prison mental health in reach teams were providing community type mental health services in 90 establishments in England by March 2004.

Prisoners (Mental Health)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of mental health service (a) provision and (b) interventions in prisons.

Stephen Ladyman: The current model of service, that of a community mental health team, used in prisons, reflects the current model of choice in contemporary mental health services in the national health service. An independent academically led project to evaluate the effectiveness of prison mental health services has begun.

Prisoners (Mental Health)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which prisons operate permanent community mental health teams.

Stephen Ladyman: The following prison establishments in England, 90 in total, have established community mental health team (CMHT) format services as part of waves one, two and three of the national prison mental health programme.
	Wave one—introduced during 2001–02—Belmarsh, Birmingham, Brixton, Bullwood Hall, Chelmsford. Durham, Eastwood Park, Feltham, Frankland, Holloway, Leeds, Leicester, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Winchester, Whitemoor, Woodhill and Wormwood Scrubs.
	Wave two—introduced during 2002–03—Ashfield, Bedford, Blakenhurst, Bristol, Brockhill, Dorchester, Exeter, Glen Parva, Holme House, Hull, Lewes, Lincoln, Liverpool, Long Lartin, Manchester, Moorland, New Hall, Norwich, Nottingham, Onley, Parkhurst, Portland, Preston, Rochester, Styal, and Wakefield.
	Wave three—introduced during 2003–04—Albany/Camp Hill, Altcourse, Aylesbury, Blantyre House, Brinsford, Buckley Hall, Bullingdon, Canterbury, Castington, Coldingley, Cookham Wood, Dartmoor, Deerbolt, Doncaster, Dovegate, Drake Hall, Elmley, Forest Bank, Foston Hall, Full Sutton, Garth, Gartree, Gloucester, Haverigg, Highdown, Highpoint North/Highpoint South, Hindley, Hollesley Bay/Warren Hill, Huntercombe, Kingston, Lancaster Farms, Littlehey, Low Newton, Maidstone, Northallerton, Reading, Risley, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Stoke Heath, Swaleside, Swinfen Hall, Thorn Cross, Werrington, Wetherby, and Wolds.
	All remaining establishments—wave four—have now received funding for the commencement of CMHT format services, although for some such funding has been provided to facilitate an assessment of service need rather than a fully functional service. Not all establishments will require fully funded CMHT format services. Establishments where the need was highest were targeted in waves one to three.

Low-income Households (Scotland)

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Department is on target to reduce the number of children in low-income households by at least a quarter by 2004 in (a) Scotland and (b) Midlothian.

Chris Pond: The Government has a PSA target at the national level to reduce the number of children in low-income households by at least a quarter by 2004–05, as a contribution towards the broader target of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020.
	Between the baseline year of 1998–99 and 2002–03 the number of children in low income households has fallen by 500,000 before housing costs and 600,000 after housing costs. We will report on the target in spring 2006 when the data for 2004–05 becomes available. However, our assessment is that we are broadly on course to meet our PSA target.
	Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in 'Households Below Average Income 1994–95—2002–03'. Data is not available below the regional level. Only poverty rates are available at regional level rather than numbers of children in low income households. It should be noted that year on year changes in these regional poverty rates are not statistically significant. The data shows that progress made in Scotland over the entire period 1998–99 to 2002–03 was in line with progress made in Great Britain over the same period.
	'Measuring child poverty', published in December 2003, outlines the Government's measure of UK child poverty for the long term. This new measure will begin from 2004–05. All publications listed are available in the Library.

Winter Fuel Payments

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of eligible people who have not received backdated winter fuel payments for the first three years of the scheme; and what the value was of such payments.

Malcolm Wicks: We estimate that about 1.9 million people could have been eligible for backdated payments for the first three years of the scheme and about 1.2 million people have now been paid. There is no cut off dates for these retrospective payments.
	It is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the numbers who have not claimed because the estimate of those newly eligible was based on sample data. It is up to the individual, where a claim is necessary, to decide whether or not to make that claim.

Building Regulations

Julian Lewis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department has taken, and over what period, to ensure that self-employed electricians have (a) been made aware of and (b) been granted adequate time to apply for accreditation in accordance with Part P of the Building Regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2005.

Phil Hope: The Government issued a Consultation Document on proposals to regulate electrical installation work in dwellings in May 2002. All the electrical trade bodies were consulted on the proposals and would have made their members aware of them. The Government formally announced in July 2003 that it had decided to introduce Part P of the Building Regulations. Throughout this period there have been many articles about the introduction of Part P in the trade press.
	The Government authorised five competent person self-certification schemes to which electricians could choose to apply in July 2004. All have been accepting and assessing applications since that time. Those electricians that applied in good time should have their application approved before 1 January unless it was defective.

European Constitution

John Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the effect of the coming into force of the European Constitution on the operation of his Department, with reference to (a) changes in legislative competence, (b) the extension of qualified majority voting, (c) the increased legislative role of the European Parliament, (d) the cost of implementation of regulations, (e) the requirements of adherence to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and (f) the quantity of legislation originating in the EU institutions.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham on 29 November 2004, Official Report, column 10W.

Gypsies and Travellers

Peter Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the registered social landlords involved in providing and managing sites for gypsies and travellers.

Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	The Government has stated its intention to extend the permissible purposes of the Housing Corporation, which will allow Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) to obtain funding for the development and management of gypsy and traveller sites.

Gypsies and Travellers

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what mechanisms have been put in place to enable people to appeal against sites approved for permanent traveller sites on local authority land; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: There is no third party right of appeal against a local authority decision to grant planning permission irrespective of whether the land is local authority land or privately owned land. It is open to any third party who is aggrieved by a local authority's decision to grant planning permission to apply for judicial review if they believe the decision was wrong in law.
	Interested or third parties have opportunities to make their views known at the formulation stages of development and local plans. They also have the opportunity to make their views known on planning applications and subsequently if the application is called in by the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister or if the applicant appeals against a local authority's planning decision.

Gypsies and Travellers

Andrew Selous: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many traveller caravans there were on each unauthorized site in South Bedfordshire in (a) July 2004 and (b) July 2003; and whether these figures include those Traveller caravans on unofficial sites owned by Travellers.

Keith Hill: In the South Bedfordshire District there were 19 unauthorised caravans in July 2003, eight on unauthorised encampments and 11 on unauthorised developments of land without planning permission. In July 2004, unauthorised caravans totalled 28, all of these on gypsies' own land.

House Prices (Bassetlaw)

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average house price is in Bassetlaw; and what it was (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years ago.

Keith Hill: Estimates of average house prices at local authority level are only available back to 1996, with the most recent figures being the provisional figures for Q2 2004. Hence the time series in the table covers a more recent period than that requested.
	
		
			 Period Average price of residential property transactions in Bassetlaw, 1996 to Q2 2004 (£) 
		
		
			 1996 52,693 
			 1998 55,574 
			 2000 67,218 
			 2002 88,576 
			 Q2 2004 119,911 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.   The above figures exclude purchases by sitting tenants and any other transactions that were believed to be below market value.
	2.   For general reference, average property prices for all local authorities in England and Wales may be accessed on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at the following locations:
	Average annual property prices by local authority from 1996:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm   housing/documents/page/odpm   house   609380.xls
	Average quarterly property prices by local authority from Q1 1996:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm   housing/documents/page/odpm   house   609381.xls
	Source:
	Land Registry

Housing

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average local authority rent charged by authorities within the Greater London area is for (a) a one, (b) a two and (c) a three-bedroom flat.

Keith Hill: The latest available estimates of local authority rents within the Government Office Region of London (equivalent to "Greater London") for the financial year 2003–04 are tabled as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Property type Weekly rent 
		
		
			 One-bedroom flat 56.21 
			 Two-bedroom flat 64.67 
			 Three-bedroom flat 72.06 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.   The figures are unaudited.
	2.   The rental figures are based on 52 weekly payments per annum.
	Source:
	"Second advance claim forms" submitted by individual local authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	
		Average local authority rents by dwelling type, 2003–04
		
			 £ per week 
			 Local authority Bedsit One-bedroom flat Two-bedroom flat Three-bedroom flat 
		
		
			  
			 London 49.56 56.09 63.94 70.85 
			 Inner London 49.65 56.21 64.67 72.06 
			 Camden 49.27 61.59 71.00 79.74 
			 City of London 54.37 62.73 69.68 75.06 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 50.21 57.73 64.68 71.72 
			 Hackney 45.74 53.31 56.44 61.69 
			 Haringey 45.95 50.62 57.36 65.40 
			 Islington 51.28 57.37 67.38 73.46 
			 Lambeth 48.40 55.78 62.07 70.23 
			 Lewisham 38.04 50.93 58.29 63.57 
			 Newham 43.16 49.27 58.28 65.40 
			 Southwark 51.57 55.73 58.75 62.63 
			 Tower Hamlets 49.30 57.31 70.01 79.55 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 51.95 63.84 83.19 90.64 
			 Wandsworth 45.25 52.35 76.26 85.05 
			 Westminster 60.00 72.93 87.78 101.05 
			  
			 Outer London 49.38 55.86 62.36 66.57 
			 Barking and Dagenham 55.15 56.01 56.19 56.75 
			 Barnet 45.79 52.71 61.59 67.05 
			 Bexley (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Brent 53.09 60.38 68.30 72.47 
			 Bromley (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Croydon 49.65 57.01 62.15 64.31 
			 Ealing 46.20 57.52 63.79 69.42 
			 Enfield 49.34 56.42 66.78 76.03 
			 Greenwich 54.57 56.43 59.51 62.59 
			 Harrow 63.09 65.85 69.30 72.13 
			 Havering 41.54 44.13 51.34 55.71 
			 Hillingdon 56.60 62.62 71.60 81.90 
			 Hounslow 42.42 52.26 60.73 67.48 
			 Kingston upon Thames 52.32 59.65 66.55 71.19 
			 Redbridge 57.97 64.66 72.79 77.34 
			 Merton 30.66 50.14 56.97 61.76 
			 Richmond upon Thames (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 
			 Sutton (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— 
			 Waltham Forest 36.87 50.32 65.62 80.73 
		
	
	(10)   Not applicable (the local authority no longer owns any housing stock).
	(11)   No figures received.
	Notes:
	1.   Figures are unaudited.
	2.   The weekly rental figures are based on 52 weekly payments per year.
	3.
	Source:
	"Second advance claim forms" submitted by local authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Local Government Finance

David Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his latest estimate is of the level of central Government financial support for (a) local government and (b) county councils, per head of population for each English county; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The amount of central Government financial support provided to all local authorities in England in 2004–05 is £58,412 million. This equates to £1,172 per head of population.
	The amount of central Government financial support provided to county councils by head of population in the same period is in the table.
	
		
			  £ per head 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire 722 
			 Buckinghamshire 687 
			 Cambridgeshire 603 
			 Cheshire 698 
			 Cornwall 792 
			 Cumbria 824 
			 Derbyshire 728 
			 Devon 668 
			 Dorset 598 
			 Durham 847 
			 East Sussex 716 
			 Essex 706 
			 Gloucestershire 684 
			 Hampshire 643 
			 Hertfordshire 753 
			 Kent 775 
			 Lancashire 766 
			 Leicestershire 645 
			 Lincolnshire 791 
			 Norfolk 723 
			 North Yorkshire 699 
			 Northamptonshire 792 
			 Northumberland 824 
			 Nottinghamshire 756 
			 Oxfordshire 698 
			 Shropshire 699 
			 Somerset 706 
			 Staffordshire 707 
			 Suffolk 726 
			 Surrey 611 
			 Warwickshire 684 
			 West Sussex 625 
			 Wiltshire 638 
			 Worcestershire 666 
		
	
	Information has been supplied for county councils only and therefore excuses unitary authorities, shire districts, and police and fire authorities within the county boundary.
	The all England data for local government support include special and specific grants inside "Aggregate External Finance", police grant, Revenue support grant, redistributed non-domestic rates and general Greater London Authority (GLA) grant.
	The data for county council support include special and specific grants inside "Aggregate External Finance", Revenue support grant and redistributed non-domestic rates but not police grant or general GLA grant as they are not payable to county councils.
	The figures for the county councils will not necessarily be comparable with each other because those which did not undergo a reorganisation between April 1995 and April 1998 will include support for fire expenditure, whereas those which did undergo a reorganisation will exclude such support.
	Similarly they will not be comparable with the total figure for England as the latter includes support for all tiers of English local government.
	The data are taken from the Revenue Account (budget) form for 2004–05—these forms are completed each year by individual local authorities.

Right to Buy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average (a) purchase price of and (b) discount applied to a right to buy (i) flat and (ii) house was in each region in England in (A) 1997 and (B) the last year for which figures are available.

Keith Hill: Average right-to-buy selling price (net of discount) and discount figures for each of the Government Office regions are shown in the table.
	
		
			 £000 
			  (a)   Selling price (net of discount) (b)   Discount 
		
		
			  House Flat House Flat (A) 1997–98 
			  
			 North east 16.2 9.6 15.0 15.4 
			 North west 18.4 9.8 16.8 20.7 
			 Yorkshire/   Humber 18.1 11.0 15.9 16.6 
			 EastMidlands 18.0 9.9 15.9 15.5 
			 WestMidlands 19.3 11.0 17.6 16.8 
			 East 25.7 13.8 24.4 20.4 
			 London 33.2 21.4 30.9 31.1 
			 South east 29.1 15.5 27.3 24.1 
			 South west 21.5 11.8 19.9 20.1 
			  
			 (B) 2003–04 
			 North east 24.3 15.2 17.5 15.4 
			 North west 26.6 15.6 19.7 17.5 
			 Yorkshire/   Humber 24.5 17.3 18.1 18.5 
			 EastMidlands 38.0 24.8 22.0 21.1 
			 WestMidlands 35.2 22.1 22.6 22.4 
			 East 63.6 43.8 31.0 32.3 
			 London 106.5 75.4 34.6 38.0 
			 South east 81.2 50.5 36.8 34.8 
			 South west 54.8 34.4 28.6 27.9

Town Centres

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action his Department is taking to discourage the domination of town centres by larger store groups.

Keith Hill: The Government's objectives for town centres and retail development, include sustaining and enhancing the vitality and viability of town centres and maintaining an efficient, competitive and innovative retail sector. The Government is strongly committed to ensuring that town centres act as the focus of development, so as to provide easy access to a wide range of facilities and services by a choice of means of transport but it is for the market to determine what form that investment takes.
	However, it is not the role of the planning system to restrict competition, preserve existing commercial interests or to prevent innovation.